Located in Georgia and Alabama, Fort Benning is an active Army base that supports over 100,000 members of the military and their families.
The Army base received its name from Brigadier General Henry L. Benning, who was over the Confederate Army during the Civil War. It started life as Camp Benning in 1918. After World War 1, the base wasn't used very much until World War II, when it became the home of the 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion, also known as the Triple Nickel. Their primary use was to fight wildfires.

Located in Georgia, Fort Gillem was opened in 1941 as a "satellite installation" of Fort McPherson. The two Army bases still work together closely.
In 2005 Fort Gillem was slated to be closed, but this may be reversed. While it was in operation, the Army base was home to many supply and support units.

Originally named Camp Gordon, this Army base was constructed in 1941. It received its name from Confederate Major General John Brown Gordon.
During World War 2, Camp Gordon was home to three infantry divisions; the 4th Infantry, the 26th Infantry, and the 10th Armored.

Located in Georgia, Fort McPherson is named after Major General James Birdseye McPherson and was officially founded by the U.S. Army in 1885 under the name "McPherson Barracks."
The site was used as an Army base for at least 50 years prior to that, however. The Army base is located on around 500 acres of land. It was known for many years as a perfect blend of old and new. Over time Fort McPherson was used as a training facility, a place to house POWs, to treat the wounded, and many other tasks. While it has a rich and prestigious history, like Fort Gillem, it was slated for closure in 2005 and will be closed by 2011.

Located on 280,000 acres of land in Georgia, Fort Stewart is the largest Army base in the Eastern United States. Because of its location it has been a great place to train and prepare troops.
It started life as a smaller base as the government began purchasing thousands of acres in 1940. In November 1940, the Anti-Aircraft Artillery Training Center (originally on 5,000 acres) was officially designated Camp Stewart, in honor of General Daniel Stewart, who had fought during the American Revolution.

With a runway that is over 11,000 feet long, Hunter Army Airfield in Georgia is used to deploy troops from nearby Fort Stewart.
The base was actually first the location of the Savannah Municipal Airport, which was opened in 1929. Renamed the Hunter Municipal Airfield in May 1940 in honor of Lieutenant Colonel Frank O’Driscoll Hunter, its name was changed to Hunter Army Air Base in 1941. During the 1940s, Hunter Army Airfield served as a training place for light bomber and dive bomber groups. In 1950, it was transferred to Air Force control and was renamed Hunter Air Force Base.

Guide to Army Posts in GA

Updated: February 12, 2015

The state of Georgia has a number of military installations, including Army bases. Fort McPherson, which was located in the south Atlanta suburb of East Point, was founded in 1885 and closed in 2011. For many years, the base served as a training facility. Formerly, situated around 500 acres of land, it was home to Forces Command (FORSCOM), United States Army Reserve Command (USARC) and the Third Army. The majority of Fort McPherson’s Third Army relocated to SHAW AFB in Sumter, South Carolina. Listed below are Army bases in Georgia.

Fort Benning

Located outside of Columbus, Georgia, Fort Benning opened in October 1918. The base actively supports over 120,000 military members and their families along with reserve soldiers, civilian employees and retirees. Named after the Civil War era’s Brigadier General Henry L. Benning, the base was not used much until World War II and remains very active when it comes to training soldiers. Movies such as “The Green Berets” (1967), “The General’s Daughter” (1999) and an episode of the FOX hit “24” were filmed at Fort Benning. Ironically, Oklahoma City bombing conspirators Timothy McVeigh, Michael Fortier and Terry Nichols met during training at Fort Benning in 1988.

Fort Gillem

Nestled inside the Atlanta suburb of Forest Park, Georgia, is Fort Gillem. The small Army base was founded in 1941 and like Fort McPherson, it too employed a large number of civilians. In 2011, an exit ceremony took place wherein First Army troops were transferred to the Rock Island Arsenal in Illinois. With departments phasing out and land being sold, all that is pretty much left of Fort Gillem is the responsibility for a cleanup effort regarding a 165 acre swath of contaminated water.

Fort Gordon

Formerly known as Camp Gordon and founded in 1941, this army installation is located in Augusta, Georgia. A large employer of both military and civilian personnel, Fort Gordon is also home to the United States Army Signal Corps, a military police detachment and the Cyber Center of Excellence.

Fort Stewart

Established in 1941 and sprawled over 280,000 acres of land near Hinesville, Georgia, Fort Stewart is the largest Army base in the eastern portion of the United States. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, the base was used to house POWs and for various types of training such as baking and cooking.

Hunter Army Airfield

Hunter Army Airfield’s standout feature is a runway that is over 11,000 feet long. Oftentimes, military jet and turboprop aircraft from bases like: Dobbins ARB, Moody AFB, Charleston AFB and Shaw AFB use Hunter AAF’s runway for training practice approaches and landings. NASA even declared Hunter as an alternate landing area for Space Shuttle orbiters. The base was named after Lieutenant Colonel Frank O’Driscoll Hunter in 1941. Serving as training ground for light bomber and dive bomber groups, a B-47E was forced to drop a nuclear payload into the Savannah River in 1958. It never detonated nor had it ever been recovered.